Skiing device



V. E. WILLIAMS Jan. 2, 1968 SKIING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct.20, 1965 /5 Z MjQ Q/A AT MZZ A INVEN'I'OR.

BY R 2" W Jan. 2, 1968 v. E. WILLIAMS 3,361,436

SKIING DEVICE Filed Oct. 20, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lfP/P/A I M4 #2446,

INVENTOR.

KIM

Jan. 2, 1968 V. E. WILLIAMS SKIING DEVICE Filed Oct. 20, 1965 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Zf/Q/P/L I V/az MM):

1 N VEN TOR.

BY MW Jan. 2, 1968 v. E. WILLIAMS 3,

SKI ING DEVI CE Filed Oct. 20, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 $75.15 BY Ki 5United States Patent 3,361,436 SKIEJG DEVICE Verril E. Williams, LosAngeles, Cailf. (4923 Escohedo Drive, Woodland Hills, Calif. 91364)Filed (let. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 498,403 12 Claims. (Cl. 280-16) ABSTRACT01* THE BISCLGSURE A ski sled having a pair of transverse framesdisposed fore and aft, each supported at its ends by runners, and alongitudinally extending control member linked to and movable laterallywith respect to the transverse frames, which movement is efiected by aunitary control lever. Each runner is connected to its frame by meansproviding for tilting movement about a substantially horizontal axis andturning movement about a substantially vertical axis and is connected bylinkage to the control member so that lateral movement of the membercauses simultaneous tilting and turning of the runners for steering andbanking the sled. The unitary control lever is pivoted to the controlmember for swinging movement in a longitudinal plane and is linked tothe linkage of the front runners for turning each of them oppositely toeffect a braking action.

This invention relates to a skiing device.

More particularly this invention relates to a skiing device whereuponone or more persons can sit and emulate the action of a person on skiswhereby the skis or runners of the device will tilt to bank the skiingdevice around the corner while at the same time steering the device.

While skiing on a pair of skis, the individual will normally approach adownwhill run on a pair of runners with the runners faced forwardly andparallel to each other with the surface of the runners parallel to theground. When it is necessary to turn or traverse a corner, the skiernormally will lean into the skis and at the same time turn the legs soas to effectuate a turning action. This results in both skis beingparallel together about the vertical axis and turning toward thedirection of the desired turn and with the plane of each ski runnerbeing approximately the same but tilted about a horizontal axis so as tobank.

While the turning and banking action of a pair of runners becomesnatural to a skier who has had lots of practice, such movement isdiflicult for the novice. This difiiculty also arises in trying to use amechanical device designed to accomplish the same purpose as a pair ofskis on an accomplished skier. For example, on the ordinary sled uponwhich children ride, the runners are often connected to a framework bywhich the direction of travel of the runners when twisted will result ina change in the direction of travel. Ordinarily, however, the commonsled, not being subjected to extremes of centrifugal forcessatisfactorily performs without a loss of lateral travel. In otherwords, there is no need to provide for banking of the runners.

There is a need for a vehicle by which not only an efficient steeringaction is provided for travelling over snow or the like but also somemeans to prevent lateral movement during the turning action. Thislateral movement is prevented by a tilting action of the runners of theski device so as to provide a banking action. In addition, effectivemeans for braking the ski device or the like is necessary withoutadditional complex structure.

An example of devices which have been devised for braking a vehicle orslowing it down can be found in US. Patent No. 1,510,560 as well as inUS. Patent No. 1,695,901.

Examples of a device which provides steering of a ski 3,3fil,436Patented Jan. 2, 1968 device in snow or the like can be found in the US.Patent to Redling, No. 2,353,501.

Examples of banking ski devices which provide a means for steering avehicle by tilting these runners or the like can be found in Us. PatentsNos. 2,589,764, 2,700,427 and 2,905,479. All of these devices have theirapplicability in situations wherein it is desired to steer the vehicleeither by turning the runners in the direction of travel or by tiltingthe runners in the direction of travel. The other examples given providea braking means whereby the vehicle can be slowed down by theapplication of a force to toe in the skis or the like. However it is notknOWn in the prior art to provide a means whereby both a tilting andsteering action can be provided in a common control mechanism and inaddition to these aforementioned functions to provide a means whereby abraking action be provided in the same control mechanism.

In its briefest aspects, this invention can be described as a skiingdevice where, by the use of a single control means, a tilting, steeringand braking action can be applied to the runners so as to effectivelysteer the vehicle by a common control mechanism about steep corners athigh speeds. This mechanism, which is controlled by a single controllever, operates to both tilt the runners of the skiing device as wall asturn them so as to effectively more about the corner. By a simplemovement, the control devices can also actuate a braking system so as tostop the vehicle.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a skiing devicewhereby a tilting and steering action can be controlled by a singlecontrol lever.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved skidevice.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent asthis description proceeds taking in conjunction with the drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of the ski device according to this invention,

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the skiing device according to this inventionwith an indication of the positons of two passengers thereon,

FIGURE 3 is a view partially in cross section along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2looking toward the rear of the front portion of the skiing device,

FIGURE 4 is a view partially in cross section taken along line 4-4 ofFIGURE 3 looking at one side of the skiing device,

FIGURE 5 is a view partially in cross section taken along line 5-5 ofFIGURE 4 of a plan view of a portion of the skiing device according tothis invention,

FIGURE 6 is a side view partially in cross section of the front turningcrank assembly taken along line 6-6 of FIGURE 3 according to thisinvention,

FIGURE 7 is a view of the rear end of the device partially in crosssection looking from the front,

FIGURE 8 is a View of the device shown in FIGURE 7 along the lines 8-8.

FIGURE 9 is a view of the device as viewed along the lines 9-9 of FIGURE8,

FIGURE 10 is a view partially in cross section of a detail of theturning crank and linkage assembly of the rear of the vehicle,

FIGURE 11 is a view of the apparatus shown in FIG- URE 10 as viewedalong the lines 11-11.

FIGURE 12 is a front view of the vehicle shown in FIGURE 1, and,

FIG. 13 is a view of the position of the runners as the skiing accordingto this invention goes around a corner.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a body member 2 which hasextending on both sides therefrom frame members 4 and 6. A torque tube 8extends from the interior of body 2 and passes through rear body member10.

assrls" Mounted on body are seats 12 and A accommodation of passengersas more particularly shown in FIGURE 2. Footrests l6 and 18 are shownwhich accommodate the rear passenger while footrests 2t and 22 whichalso form part of the bracket mechanism as more fully explained lateraccommodate the front passenger.

The ski sled device has four runners shown at 24, 26, 28 and 39. Runners28 and 3d are supported by rear frame members 32 and 34 respectively.Brake handle 56 when actuated applies braking mechanism 146 which isshown 'in more detail in FTGURE 8. Front handle 46 operates a linkagewhich Will both tilt and steer the vehicle and in addition can apply abraking action to the front runnets.

Referring to FIGURE 3, torque tube 8 is shown in cross section. Handle49 is attached to torque tube 8 as shown in FIGURE 4 with torque tube 8pivoted about pivot pin 44. Thus, movement of handle it to the left orto the right will move or roll the torque bar laterally as shown indotted lines in FIGURE 3. Connected to torque tube 8 is a bracket 46which is hinged by means of pin 48 to a turntable platform 5t which inturn is pinned by pin 52 to leveling arm 54 which is pinned at 56 tosupport member 58. When torque tube 8 is rolled or moved laterally tothe right from the position shown in dotted line A to the position shownat B, turntable platform 53 remains level and likewise moves to theright. Attached by pin 6% to turntable platform Si? is a turntable 62.Pinned at 63 is tie-rod 64 which will move to the right in the directionof arrow as when the torque bar $3 is rolled to the right.

As shown in FIGURE 4 torque bar tubes in addition to being pivoted topivot pin 44 has located thereon supporting members 7% and 7 which pivotabout pins 76 and 78 respectively with another support frame 86 which ispivoted about pin 32 in a similar manner. Thus, movement of handle orjoy stick to the left or right will cause rotation and lateral or torquetube g about the rerespective pivot points thus causing tie-rods and 84to move laterally, one of the tie-rods moving to the right and the othertie-rod likewise moving to the right. Attached to footrest or bracket isa snubbing rod 86 which i attached at the other end to turning crank 88.This attachment is made by pin 9t) (see FIGURE 6). Adjust ment of bothtie-rod 64 and snubbing rod 86 is accomplished by turnbuckles 92 and 94.Similar mechanisms are employed on the remaining snubbing rods andtie-rods for the other runners. Referring again to FIGURE 4, controlhandle as by means of bracket 1% and turnbuckle A92 is attached to rodTile and thence to the turntable 62. Tie-rod 64 (see FIGURE 6) isattached to turning crank 88 by means of pin Th6. Turning crank 88passes through and is rotatable relative to bushing or hearingsubstantially vertically disposed and having a sleeve 199 rigidtherewith which is journaled'on a horizontally disposed rod or spindle11$ rigid with the end of the frame (FI URE 6). Runner 26 is connectedto a knee action assembly which is made up of arms 13dand E16 and springmember 119 and provides torsional rigidity, the assembly being securedto crank 83 as at 112 (FIGURES 2, 5 and 6). Thus, the runner is mountedfor tilting movement about the substantially horizontal axis of rod 113and for turning in the substantially vertically disposed bearing 103.

When the control stick is actuated to the right as shown in FIGURE 3,tie-rod 64 moves to the right thus exerting an outwardly directed forceon turning crank 83. This force results in a horizontal movement aboutpivot pin 11% resulting in a tilting of runner 26 as shown in dottedlines in FIGURE 3. At the same time, there is rotation about asubstantially vertical axis through bearing memher 198 causing the frontof runner 26 to move to the right thus directing the runners in thedesired direction of travel. It can be seen therefore that by one simplemovement, both a tilting and steering action is accomplished. Inaddition, the riders, by leaning toward the direction of turn willchange the center of gravity toward the inside of the curve.

Another feature of this invention includes the provision for a brakingaction upon movement of the control lever 45 rearwardly. This is mostclearly brought out in FlG- URE 5. When control lever 4b is pulledrearwardly, turntable 62 will pivot about pin 6%} forcing bot-h tie-rods64 and 84 inwardly toward body 2. This will cause both runners to beturned inwardly to effectuate a braking action much the same manner asthe accomplished skier using ski brakes.

The rearward runners are actuated in much the same manner as the frontrunners except that no snubbing bar is used. With this arrangement,movement of the control handle will cause tilting of rear runners 3t)and 28 in the same direction as front runners 24 and 26 except that theywill be steered in the opposite direction in the manner shown in FIGURE13. This increases the steering action and allows the rearward portionof the vehicle to be steered as well as the front portion. A view fromthe front looking toward the rear portion of the vehicle is shown inFIGURE 7. Thus, rotation of torque bar 8 to the right (as viewed inFIGURE 7) will force tie-rod 1'22) to the right as shown by arrow 122and tie-rod $24 will likewise be moved to the right as torque bar 3rotates and moves laterally to the right. This will exert forces on therespective rear turning cranks such as 126 thus tilting ski or runnerThe arrangement is slightly different than that shown from the front endof the vehicle since the braking action caused by toeing in of the frontrunner is not needed. Thus a simple hinge or pivoting arrangement suchas shown at 33-3 and 132 is all that is necessary to move tie-rods 12dand 124. Although a snubbing bar is not used, the rear runners willnotonly tilt but will steer in a direction opposite to that of the frontrunners, This is due to the slight vertical angle of pin 164 (see FIG-URE 10). V

In FIGURE 8 there is shown a braking mechanism for the vehicle which isin addition to that caused by the toeing in of the front runners. Abrake handle 36 when moved to the rear and downwardly in the directionof arrow 144 will pivot about pin 14d to cause movement of bar 142 fromthe position shown in FIGURE 8 as horizontal to that shown in thedirection of arrow M4 to cause shoe member 146 to dig into the snow orice as the case may be, thus to slow the vehicle down. Handle 36 and bar142 is normally biased in a direction opposite that of arrow 144 byspring 150. A view of the braking mechanism looking down thereon isshown in FIGURE 9. FIGURE 10 is a detail of one of the rear runners 30and in many respects is similar to the front runners. Thus torsion barsand 162 are provided to lend torsion stability to spring 116 and runner30. In a like manner turning crank 126 can move about a substantiallyhorizontal axis represented by pin 16d and'about a slight vertical axisto cause the required tilting and steering action in a directionopposite that of the front runners. in other respects, the action of therear turning crank assembly is substantially similar to'that of thefront turning crank assembly. Thus it can be seen that movement oftorque bar 8 about pivot points 44 and 82 will cause the'rear runners totilt in the same direction as the front runners and will steer as shownin FTGURE 13.

To aid in turning and to afford a banking action for the riders, rearbody member lltl will tilt in response to the steering action. This isaccomplished by body member being pivoted about pin 147 (see FIGURE 8)which passes through tubes 34 and 32 (which may comprise a single tube).Fin 147 is in turn held by pins 149 and 151. Thus, as torque bar 8 isshifted, body member ill will shift with it to provide a rotation aboutpin 147. Preferably, pin 14-7 would be in line with pins 44, 76, 73 and82.

Thus it can be seen that by this device a skiing assembly has beenprovided by which riders can ride on the skiing device and by a simplemovement of control lever cause both a tilting and steering action tooccur much in the same manner as the professional skier on skis changesdirection. In addition, the single control lever by a differentmanipulation acts as a brake.

Having described this invention, it is to be understood that the scopeof the invention is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A ski sled device comprising:

a frame having a longitudinal axis; a plurality of longitudinal runnersadapted to support said frame and each attached thereto by connectingmeans providing for tilting movement about a substantially horizontalaxis and turning movement about a substantially vertical axis;

control means on said frame including laterally movable means and aunitary control lever for effecting such lateral movement; and

linkage means connected to said laterally movable means and saidrunners, said laterally movable means being adapted to move said linkagemeans for tilting said runners in the same direction about theirrespective horizontal axes and simultaneously turning said runners inthe same direction about their respective vertical axes.

2. A ski sled device according to claim 1 wherein said connecting meansincludes a member individual to each runner and supported for tiltingmovement on said frame, said member having a substantially vertical axisand journaling its respective runner for turning movement.

3. A ski sled device according to claim 1 and further including secondlinkage means connected between said unitary control lever and saidfirst-named linkage means for turning said runners in oppositedirections about their respective vertical axes whereby to act as abrake.

4. A ski sled device according to claim 1 wherein there are two frontrunners and further including at least one back runner; and

third linkage means connecting said back runner to said laterallymovable means;

said laterally movable means being adapted to move said third linkagemeans for turning said runner about a vertical axis in a directionopposite to said front runners.

5. A ski sled device according to claim 4 wherein said back runner tiltsin the same direction as said front runners when said laterally movablemeans is moved.

6. A ski sled device comprising:

a body;

a frame member attached to said body and extending at a direction normalto the direction of travel;

a pair of runners, one of said runners being attached to said framemember at one end thereof by a turning crank, the other runner beingsimilarly attached to said frame member at the other end thereof each ofsaid cranks being pivotable about a substantially horizontal axis and anaxis substantially vertical, one end of each of said cranks beingattached to one of said runners respectively, the other end of each ofsaid cranks being substantially immovable with respect to its respectiveend of said frame member;

control means on said body;

linkage means attached to said control means and to each of said turningcranks;

whereby actuation of said control means will move said turning cranksthrough said linkage means to tilt each of said runners about thehorizontal axis of its respective crank and to rotate each of saidrunners about the vertical axis of its respective crank in substantiallythe same direction 7. A ski sled device according to claim 6 and furtherincluding second linkage means connected to said control means adaptedto rotate each of said runners about the vertical axis of its respectivecrank in opposite directions whereby to brake said ski sled device.

8. A ski sled device according to claim 6 wherein said control meansinclude a torque bar extending substantially normal to said frame, saidlinkage means being attached to said torque bar, whereby rotation ofsaid torque bar will actuate said linkage.

9. A ski sled device according to claim 7 wherein movement of saidcontrol means in a direction normal to said direction of travel willcause tilting and simultaneous rotation of said runners in the samedirection and movement of said control means in the direction of travelwill cause rotation of said runners in a direction opposite to eachother.

10. A ski sled device according to claim 6 and further including:

a second frame member extending at a direction normal to the directionof travel;

a second pair of runners, each of said second pair of runners beingattached to said second frame member at opposite ends thereof.

11. A ski sled device according to claim 10 wherein each of said secondrunners is attached to said second frame member by second turningcranks, each of said second cranks being pivotable about a substantiallyhorizontal axis and an axis substantially in the vertical direction, oneend of each said second turning cranks being attached to one of saidsecond pair of runners;

second linkage means attached to said control means and to each of saidsecond turning cranks;

whereby actuation of said control means will move said second turningcranks through said second linkage means to tilt each of said secondrunners about the horizontal axis of its respective crank and to rotateeach of said second runners about the vertical axis of its respectivecrank in substantially the same direction.

12. A ski sled device according to claim 11 wherein actuation of saidcontrol means Will rotate said front runners in a direction opposite torotation of said second runners and said first and second runners willtilt in the same direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,510,560 10/1924 Schultz --82,525,833 10/1950 Schiifbauer 28016 FOREIGN PATENTS 173,615 1/1953Austria. 1,032,750 7/ 1953 France.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner. L. D. MORRIS, Examiner.

